Gas-stove manifold.



A. W. WALKER.

GAS SIOVE MANIFOLD.

APPLicATIoN FILED APR.15. 191.1.

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Patented duly titl, iltlll..

application area anni te, reir. serial no. reame.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that ll, ART W. Wannen, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful improvements in Gas-Stove Manifolds, of which the following is a specilication.

rllhis invention relates to improvements in as stoves. More particularly it relates to improvements in the construction of the gas supply and control arrangements and protective devices therefor.

ln modern practice it iscustomary to p rovide a series of burners arranged in line along a manifold having a lever cock for each. fn a kitchen stove, for example, the manifold is a pipe running horizontally along the front at about the burner level, with a series of cocks outside of 1t, each with its anis vertical and its control handle consisting of an arm swinging in a h oricontal plane. The row of coch armsa 1s a part of the stove that protrudes from 1t toward any person standing before the stove to use it, or passing by the front of it. As a result the arms are liable to be accidentally caught by clothing of the person using the range., `or passing; but no practicable or reasonably convenient method of arranging a guard for such handles on apparatus of this modern construction has been lrnown so far as l am aware prior to the present invention. llt is an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved construction whereby a manifold running along the eX- posed edge of a stove hot plate or other like apparatus may be concealed fromview; the coclts leading therefrom to the burner be nevertheless exposed to view and to easy operation, and be guarded so that there is no liability of their being caught and unwittingly turned by a person; and also to improve the general construction andtoperation, the appearance and the utility of such apparatus.

These objects of the invention are accomplished by the construction illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which-,A

Figure l is a plan of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end on a larger scale, showing a detail in seeI range. de illustrated elevation of the same,

tion on the line 3 3 of Fig.v Il; and Fig. d is a detail in section on the line 4 4.

Referring to the drawings, l0 indicates the top of a gas range or other like apparatus. 11 is the mixing chamber being a part of the burner into which gas is discharged to be mixed with air and then conducted to the outlet of the burner,y the burner outlet and the greater part of the chamber not being seen in the drawing. These may be of any ordinary or suitable construction. 'llhe manifold for supplying gas marked 12, has sundry discharge passages 13, each leading to a lever handled cock 14, whence a discharge passage l5 leads through a regulating hood i5 to the mining chamber 1l. lt is one characteristic of the construction that the coch is set with its axis projecting horizontally toward the position occupied by a person standing in front of the stove or passing along the row of handles. These handles are simple arms l? of the usual type, set at right angles to the valve stems 16, and are consequently always in the same vertical plane whether open or closed, and do not when opening or closing project either more or less toward a person in front of the stove. Although these handles may be the part of the stove nearest to such a person, danger is eliminated by a guard 18 which is arranged in combination w1th them so that when closed, the handles are nested close under@ it, and protected by 1t, wlthout being at the same time deprived of their characteristic position of being the part of the stove which is nearest to the user, The guard is supported by and entends outward from the adjaceni top of the in the drawing the guard and the stove top l() are lower than the manifold, and the edge of the stove top has integral projecting ears i9 of metal, one being located at each end of the rail., clear of the manifold, and projecting outward and slightly downward and having a hole 20 large enough to receive a curved prong or hoolt 2l which projects from the guard i8. These parts may be so designed that the prongs 2l can he inserted through the holes 20 when the guard is tipped up, and can act as hoolrs or levers to bold the outer part of the guard i8 suspended when it is tipped down, the outer part of the ear i9 being the support or inforum.. This is illustrated in iid titl

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lltltl lith Fig. 4 where it will be perceived that after the prong has been inserted with the guard tipped up, the outer part of the guard can be turned downward around the metal below the hole, as a fulcrum, until the prong 21, moving upward around the same, encounters the under side of the stove top 10. In that position the `prong constitutes one arm of a lever which supports the guard 18; and a lug 23 cast on the under side of the stove top prevents the guard being withdrawn horizontally. The whole guard and its prongs are removable by lifting the outer part of the guard. The curvature of the prong, makes a recess on the upper side of the prong .which receives the lug 23. The top of the guard may be made approximately flush with the range top 10, as illustrated.

' If close to it, as shown, the two abutting,

or nearly abutting, surfaces should be inclined in a direction approximating that in which the adjacent part of the guard prong is movlng just before it reaches its seat, or, at least, the inclination from the vertical should be not less than this. However, any other ordinary or suitable arrangement may be employed for supporting the guard.

The ears 19 and prongs 21 are preferably vlocated beyond the end of the manifold as illustrated in Fig. 1. Hence, in process of manufacture and of assembling the apparatn s, the particular features of the invention w1ll not interfere with the needed operations for putting the manifold in lace; but when the manifold has been put into place it is covered from view by the guard 18; and the cock stem is covered; and half of each handle. is covered; but the handle itself, which 1s nested close under the guard, is in plainv view and isfeasily accessible. Nevertheless, as the cock handle is round in cross sectlon and as the guard reaches to its plane, clothing rubbing against the handle is prevented bythe guardl from engaging any but the outer side of the handle, yet at any time one ca n readily -turn it with ones finger, by engagin the finger around the back side of thehan le. This results from usin a handle which does not depart from a vertlcal plane as 1t is turned, and in providing a guard set 1n that same vertical plane. The guard itself may be nickel lated or otherwise made of material which 1s harmless for clothing rubbing against it. If a cock be used in which the handles are set horizontal when the cock is closed, this being the customary position being transverse to the direction of the gas passage through the cock, any blow striking one in a horizontal direction toward the right, as illustrated, does not tend to turn the cock; nor does a blow striking it squarely toward the left, because that would be on dead center; while a downward blow would be warded ofi' by the guard. The guard may project a trie beyond the axis of the handle, as illustrated in Fig. 3, without interfering with the visibilityof the cocks from above, and their accessibility but with the advantage that itrenders it practically impossible to open one except by thev insertion of the finger orl some implement horizontally between the guard and the handle as a preliminary measure.

The removability of the guard facilitates original construction, repairs and cleaning. The device has the further advantage over the modern economical and inexpensive gas ranges commonly on the market, in that it gets the manifold out of the way and out of dirt-catching position. As the longitudinal dimension of the cock with its inlet and discharge passages extends transversely of the mixing chamber instead of being a longitudinal extension of that chamber, the whole group of apparatus can be made more compact with the manifold close under the stove top, the cock pipe close to and parallel with the lstove wall and with only the short necked stem of the cock projecting, so that a rather narrow guard is suicient.

Moreover under the conditions which prevail in the industry to which the invention relates the described construction makes appreciable improvements in the operating characteristics of the stove. The manufacture of gas cocks being standardized as a special branch of industry, manufacturers of gas stoves find it best practice to buy standard cocks rather than to make them themselves. When such a cock is set with its stem vertical, clearance must be allowedto a. certain extent between its handle and the adjacent wall of the stove. TheV mixing chamber of the burner is therefore made by the stove maker long enou h to receive the discharge from the cock t us set out, this being cheaper than the cost involved in {itting a pipe extension to the cock. The invention, y using a standard cock with a bend in its discharge end as illustrated, and by the compact construction which the invention permits, as above mentioned, produces a saving in ordinary cases of two inches or thereabout in the length of the mixing chamber. This means a shorter throat in thel mixing chamber, and this in turn not only makes the burner less costly to manufacture but it reduces the friction of gas therein when in .operation, and so increases the heating capacity of the burner because of the larger ame which results.

' :The invention is not limited to the precise construction illustrated but may be ap# plied in various ways within the scope of t e appended claims. Itis intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the claims whatever features of patentability exist in the invention disclosed.

I claim as my invention 1. In a gas stove having a top and a maaar@ burner2 the combination of a horizontally extending manifold close to the level of the top; a continuation of the top, comprising a guard supported thereby and extending over the manifold and downward to below its level; a cock depending from the manifold and discharging into the burner, arranged with its stem horizontal; and an operating arm for the stem, projecting therefrom, swinging in a vertical plane; and nesting close to said guard when closed.

2. In a gas stove having a top and a burner, the combination of a horizontally.

extending manifold close to the level of the top; a cock depending from the manifold and discharging into the burner, arranged with' its stem horizontal; an operating arm for the stem projecting therefrom and swinging in a vertical plane; and a guard extending from the edge of the top over the manifold and to the vertical plane of said arm, the whole being arranged with the arm nesting close under the edge of the guard, and with said guard removable from proximity to said manifold and arm.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 14th day of April 1917.

ARTHUR W. WALKER. 

